Detectives were still questioning family members, but they said the victim had fallen on hard times, police spokesman Sgt. Mike Wilson said.

The elderly woman, who had an extensive medical history, lived alone in the 11000 block of Idlewood Drive in the Wilshire Estate neighborhood.

On Friday, the electric company turned off the woman's power, Wilson said.

Without a way to keep her medications refrigerated, the woman's family purchased a gasoline-powered generator to temporarily keep the refrigerator running. They placed the generator outside, started it and planned to have the home's power restored on Monday, Wilson said.

But after getting several discouraging looks from neighbors, the family moved the noisy generator indoors. They hooked it up in the bathroom, Wilson said.

Family members said they gave the woman her medication and checked on her every couple of hours. It was during one of those visits Saturday afternoon that the woman's daughter made the discovery, Wilson said. She found her mother unresponsive inside the home around 3:30 p.m. and called 911.

Paramedics said the woman was dead at the scene.

Savannah Firefighters and Emergency Services checked the air inside the house.

"Fire assessed the levels of carbon monoxide and determined they were at fatal levels," Wilson said.